Aeroplane suspension-railway.



P. H. PAGES.

AEROPLANE SUSPENSION RAILWAY.

APPLICATION FILED IEB.16, 1909.

Patented Sept. 10, 1912.

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P. H. PAGES.

AEROPLANE SUSPENSION RAILWAY APPLICATION FILED FBB.16, 1909.

Patented Sept. 10, 1912.

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AEROPLANE SUSPENSION RAILWAY.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 16, 1909. L,037,973. Patented Sept. 10,1912.

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P. H. PAGES. AEROPLANE SUSPENSION RAILWAY.

APPLICATION FILED F3116. 1909.

Patented Sept. 10,1912.

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P. H. PAGES. AEROPLANB SUSPENSION RAILWAY.

APPLICATION TILED PBB.16, 1909.

Patented Sept. 10, 1912.

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P. H. PAGES. AEROPLANB SUSPENSION RAILWAY.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 16, 1909. I 1,037,973. Patented Sept. 10,1912.

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will be the weight ot the UNITED STATES egprnn'r orrron.

PAUL H. PAGES, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF THREE-TWENTIETHS TO WALTER W. HEROY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AEROPLANE SUSPENSION-RAILWAY.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgnhgd Sept, 10, 1912.,

Application filed February 16, 1909. Serial No. 478,187.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Pam. H. Paons, of the borough of Brooklyn. in the county of Kings, city of New of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Aeroplane Suspensioil-Railway, and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to an aeroplane safety suspension electric railway system for transporting passengers, mail, baggage, etc, either for long distances or for shorter distances for amusement purposes.

The obje'ct'of my invention to provide a railway system of this lcind which is so con structed that the greater the speed the less .ars upon the supporting rails, and the less will he the friction and Wear upon the moving parts and superstructure.

For an'iusement purposes, my ohjert is especially to reproduce as far as possihle the sensati ns ol aerial flight, providing the car with a series of aerop anes for this pur pose, and causing itto he given an undulating movement and also a swinging or pitching movement from tim in time.

l. have shown my invention in the accompanying drawings in which .lfiigure l is a side elevation ol a railroad and car cmistructod according to one cmhoclinient ol m'v l]'lVQ]1i'-l()l). l ir 2- is a trans verse View showing a su wrslriurture ('I\i'- rying two separate (ravlcs and cars sus-i pended l' oin said tracks traveling in opp)- site i'lireclii'uis. The ear shown to the loll of this figure is indicated in its position as York, andin the State l ea ted between the su 1ortin ")i|lar: oi th l l m i s p i-structure, while the car to the right oi the figure is shown as located opposite one of said pillars.

Fig. 3 shows a plan vi w oi"; one al the cars used 11] said llifviillliulliiii. 1

traol; i used. a

i on. oil from the rails at some distance l'ronl used for an'iuseinent purposes. Fig. ll is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 10 is a transverse YlOW of a steel superstructure used for supporting a single track. Fig. 11 is a similar section of a superstructure constructed of wood. Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic View of a track adapted to carry the second modification used for amusementpurposes, and Fig. 13 is a detailed view of a portion of the supporting mechanism permitting a i" rec swaying movement of the car.

In the drawings referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 5, (S, 7, l0 and 11. 1 is a trusscd superstrurlnre made of steel and supported upon steel columns Said superstructure carries a pair of track supporting brackets 3 supported in and braced from the superstructure in the proper manner. Each track suppm-ting ln'aclcet 3 comprises a pair of Wings l, each'ot said wings carrying a track Be tween each pair of Wings 4 upon each of the track-supporting bracket-s there is a third track for rail 6, projecting downwardly and supported upon an insulated base 7.

The sin ierstructure shown in Fig. 10 is especially designed to support a single tracksupporting bracket 8, the construction therein hoing of steel or other suitable material. The sluun'structurc shown in Fig. ll is cons1 rucled in a similar manner except that the construction therein is especially designed wit h a view to making use of wooden beams f) and tie rods It). The superstriictures may h provided with lights ll and flag-poles l2 in any de ired manner.

in each lrm-lc-suppm-ting hrar -iet l have lo ated a pair of insulated conduits 13 for -";il':' \'ll|;, the conductors of electricity for power and lighting. 'lhcdwo upwardly dircrlcd rails 5 are connected to the mnduclors inone of said conduits til while the third rail 3 is ionnri-leil to the condiu tors in the other onduit l ln the case where a single hown in Figs. H) and H make use of av switch It as shown on l ig. 5. aid switch ll is o connected to (he wondoctors in the conduit 1. that the current is the -wiivh when the latter is open. thus an tomalicall r wii'lulrawing the power from a. lrain which is approa hing an open switch. The car shown in Fig. 1 may hrog n-ralcd in trains of a number of cars each. I have, however, shown in the drawings only a sin gle car. Each car in the modification shown in the figures above referred to comprises a pair of trucks 15. llach truck 15 comprises an insulating base 16 having arms 17 extending upwardly at either side thereof and bent inwardly and. downwardly over the tracks forming journal brackets 18 and 19 for the wheels 20 of which there are four located on each truck. Each wheel 20 is supported. upon a stub shaft 20 extending between :1. pair of journal brackets 18 and 19 extending upwardly from the insulating base 16. A side bracket 21 is located at each side of the insulating base 16 and supported upon the journal brackets 18. The bracket 21 is adapted to support an electric motor 22 for the purpose of driving the wheels located at that side of the truck. As already shown in. Figs. 8 and 9 the motor has a driving shaft E23 carrying a gear 94 at its inner' end which meshes with a gear 25 carried by a stub shaft. 26 suppm'tcd. on a cross bar 27 extending between the joiirnal brackets 18. Faeh of the axles 90 has attached thereto a gear wheel 28 which meshes with the gear lfi. The wheels on each side of the truck are thus positively driven in the same direction by the operation of a single motor. The journal bearing 19 at each sideof the truck supports a bell crank lever 29 pivoted at 30 thereto. The vertical member of the bell crank lever 29 is attached to a collar upon the gear 25 while the horizontal member of the bell crank le er has attached thereto a wire cable 31 extending downwardly to the car where it may be operated to throw the gear 25 out of mesh with the gear 21- in case the motor should become damaged so as to prevent its etiicient operation. A brake 32 is provided located between ach pair of wheels 20 at either side of the truck. Said brake 32 is supported upon a pair of downwardly extending bolts 33 carrying springs 34 for positively forcing the b 'ake 32 downwardly. In order to operate the brake to stop the car, I have provided a pneumatically actua ed lever 35 pivoted at 36 to one of the journal bearings 18 and operated by means of a con1- pressed air cylinder 37. In order to operate the brake in the case of an emergency also attach thereto a wire, cable fit) extending over pulleys 40 and attached to the upper face of said brake. The cable 39 extends downwardly to the car where it is operated in a manner to be hereinafter described. der to give each motor an attractive appearance and in the ease of amusement devices an appearance suggesting aerial llight, I cover each over with a torpedo like shell 41 having conical ends 42 made of wire screens to permit the motor to be cooled by the passage oF air. At. the :1 ex of each cone -12 there is lccated an electric light 43. The insulating In orbase 16 supports on its upper surface a pair of guide rods it having adjustable nuts -15. .\t their upper ends a wheel b'acket -16 is slidablv supported upon said rods 41-, the wheel bracket 16 carrying at either end thereof a tlanged wheel 47 riding upon the third rail (3. ln order to maintain the wheels 47 constantly in contact with the rails 6 the wheel bracket lb is continually forced upward by means of a pair of springs 4d situated upon the rods =14 and located in recesses in said wheel bracket. A certain amount play is permitted between the whcel bracke' to and the top of the base 16. The amount of play. however, is not quite as great as the depth of the llanges on the wheels 47 and 20, the proportions being such therefore as to prevent the wheels from jumping the tracks metal plate 49 underlies the insulating base 16 and extends from one pair of journal brackets '18 t0 the other. Attached to plate 49 there is an annular track 50 upon which a series of rollers 51 are adapted to ride. The rollers are carried in a plurality of brackets 52 projecting upwardly from the car supporting frame 51-).

in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. etc, the frame extends from the trout to the rear truck and is shown in the accompanying drawings as a channel iron. The front and rear of said frame 53 is provided with a coupling link 54 pivoted M3 3 thereto and having at its end a bifurcated socket 5(1 dividcd with a coupling pin 37. The end of the courding link M is supported within a slideway 518 which pcrmits the same to move upon the pivot 55 when the train of cars is going around the curve. Beneath each truck there are located the car supporting rods which comprise a vertical rod 51! conncctcd to the supporting t'ramc 5a by means of a spring (50 and two diagonally converging rods (ll similarly connected to said frame 53 by means of springs 11-2. The rods 55) and (it are attached to a single plate 3 attached at its lower end at til to a similar platc Gii. The platc (33 is connected by means of vertical and diagonally converging rods H6 and (J and springs 68 and (39 to bars 70 and T1 extending upwardly from the car. The rods 3'.) and til as shown in Fig. -l are attached at their upper ends to cross-lwams T2 and connecting bars for the same T3 which constitute a subsidiary frame extending at right angles to the beam 53. The said beam 53 is furthermore provided with a plurality of cross beams H to the end of which are attached a number of tie rods which act to brace the end supporting 'l'ramc. There are. of course. two sets ot the rods 59 and til. one of said sets being located at either side of one of the trucks. 4

lleucath each truck there is situated a propcllcr motor To carrying a propeller T7. 'llus construction is the same \\'llll regard to each of thetrucks except that the pro ellers 77 are directedtoward the center of t e'car and are designed to rotate in opposite. di rections to prevent the production of a torque'whic-h if formedwould decrease' the elticiencyof'the ropeller located at the rear of the car. -E ac 1 propeller is-inclosed by a protecting guard =78 to preyentfinjuryr by contact-witlrthe' blades. Sup orting rods T9'and springs 80"are provides connecting the supporting frame 53 with the -propeller motors 76; At the front and rear of the ear and also between the propellers are located a plurality of series (if aeroplanes '81. Each of these comprises a number'of superimposed parallel planes 82 connected'about their center by means of said supporting rods'.83 extending from the supporting a frame 53 to. the car and connected at the lower art' with bracing rods 84 extending to the ottom of the car. Springs 85 are interposed' between'the up er ends of the rods 83 and-the supporting fi ame53. The ends of each series of aero lanes are furthermore connected together y means of'rods 86.

so as to I maintaln them always parallel." Means are provided for shiftin the angle of the series of'aer'oplanes to ecrease the load upon the trucks as much as desired, and to obtaima maximum of efficiency infliftin e1fort.' '-The change of angle is acconi li'she by the niovmentmf'chu-ins 87-ex'ten ing in each series of-aeroplanes at either side thereof from onelend of the lower aeroplaneio the other and passing around guide pulleys 88 sup orted upon brackets 89 pro ecting from t e-ro'o'f of the car. ThsefchainsBT at either side of the car are'conne'cted tola rod 90 carried between rollers 91,'*support-' ed upon th'e'brackets 89. Eachrodrsfurthermore equip ed with arack 92 with which a gear w ieel 93 is dsi ed to' mesh,

the gear wheel 93.being carrie u on a shaft 94 extending across the top of tie car and operated by means of a hand wheel 95 having a handle 96. The shaft 94' is also prou e d with a pair of ratchet wheels 97,

adapted to coiiperate with a pair of pawls 98. "The function of the pawls 98 is to provide the rotation of the shaft' 94 in either direction desired. The car 99 is provided with a metallic projecting roof 0 .w hich projects laterally therefrom to produce an upper deck for the convenience of trainmen. Around the edge ofthe deck 100 is located a "lilies 9 A ife h nd-o rinate-air P 3 r' of.100 .thre.is ,s1tua,ted a,

103, an constructedfiingother -resiec 11 the coupling hnksflogahove descri ed car 99"1s.furthermore providedwitlfd l ower coupling dink-; 102; supportedjjin",

of the same. The said platform 110 extends tion it is carried above the"'platform 110 situated only a few inches below the bottom.

completely across the structure from the sup orting columns 2 on one side to those 'n t e other." In case of accident requiring the stopping'of the car between latforms the passengers can be discharge through a trap door leading to a ladder lllnormally carried in' a horizontal position beneath the car which can be let down so as toreach the ground. 112 indicates a resistance coil such as is used in electric railways, and 113 a storage reservoir for compressed air. A ladder .114 leads from the upper platform 100 to the supporting frame beneath the motors so'.-that the latter'can be readil reached for' the-purpose of repair and a justment.

The'modification shown in Figs. 8, 9, 12

aud 13 is sgecially'desivned for amusement purposes. n this modification, the motor 'cons'tfuction'and gearshifting and brake devices are in all respects alike' Said parts will be'described in connection with another modification. The same is true of the turntable, consisting oftrack50,' rollers 51 and roller supportin brackets 52. Additional means are 'provided,"however, in themodlti- .catioiishown in brackets 89 for ermittmg .the'car to swin in the direction 0 its move- 1 .ment or' .latera 1yto give the'sensation of aerial (light. In orderto'e'tfect'this inovemerit the track 50'is connected to a supporting'flplate 1'15. Upon. said plate llfi'there is "pivoted a yoke 116'. Said oke'in turn is Boiler 1223s inclosed' by guard 194. It will ev-noted th 'at -in this instance there is only 'a single track for each car 120, the latter being made short. At the front of the car 1201ssituateda wheel 125 which operates ag'i ner-cable 126 connected to'v the brake operating} icable .39." Suitable mechanism "slaw-providedat-the frontofthe car to 1 operatef brake pneumatically, the wheel 1 5, ;finFl7cable-126being designed to be ,ope'rated onlyin case the (pneumatic operating-mechanism becomes i'sabled. The-car on this' modification is also provided with ivoted'at'll't'to a lower 0 e'118,situated a plurality ofseries of aeroplanes 127 to give the appearance of aerial flight. The series of aeroplanes 127 in thi's'i'nstance are however always maintained parallel to the roof of the car as there is no need in this instance to decrease the weight upon the truck. Each series of aeroplanes 127 is connected at its sides by means of a pair of large rods 128 extending downwardly from a cross-beam 129, pivoted at 130 to an I beam 131, extending longitudinally in a front and rear direction from the plate 115. The said rods 128 are also connected at their lower ends to the roof of the car by means of I bolts 132. Rods 133 connect the end of each series of aeroplanes at either side thereof to the roof- The car in this instance is of the car. also provided with a side door 134 for the discharge and entry of passengers upon each side of the car. In order to increase the illusion the car carries a rudder 135 and a number of incandescent lights 136 situated upon its exterior.

Fig. 12 shows a form of track that would be specially desirable in adapting a device for amusement purposes. The track com- "prises a straight upwardly inclined grade 137 so connected with the electric conductors as to feed the full amount of power to the car, and a Wavy coasting grade 138 disconnected from the electric conductors to permit the car to coast when traveling down wardly over .the same.

In theioperation of the railway the train of cars such as that referred to in the description of the'first modification is propelled at a high speed by means of the several motors which are applied to each and every "supporting wheel and the motor driven aerial propellers. The planes 82 having been adjusted to their most efiicient angle, the sameefi'ect a lifting effort which increases thespeed of the train. As a result, the amount of friction of the parts and the wear u on the same are very markedly decreased ecauseof the presence of the planes. This reacts upon the moving parts and permits even a higher speed than would be obtainable without the use of the planes. At the same time, the construction is such as to absolutely prevent. any possibility of derailment, as ,caclr truck is positively locked to the three rails by the flanges of the several wheels. As the train proceeds, should it approach an open switch thecurrent would be automatically cut off from the rails which supply the current to the 4 train, thus bringing the train to a stop before the switch is reached. Should one of the motors -become damaged during the movement of the train, the same could be thrown out of operation by depressing the wheel crank lever-29 and disengaging the gear 24 from the gear 25 connected thereto. In order to stop the train, the same can be effected at any time by the operation of the pneumatic or mechanical brakes. If it should be found dsirable to stop the train at any point between stations, the passengers can be readily discharged from the cars-by lowering the ladders 111. When so lowered the passengers can readily pass outwardly through a tra door in the floor of the car to the grounr. Upon a station being reached, the train is carried above a platform 110 upon which the passengers are discharged from the side doors of the car 108. When it is desired to have the train go in the opposite direction, the angles of the planes 82 can be shifted so that they tilt upwardly at their opposite ends by operating the hand wheel 95; In this construction there is no chance for the trolley to become displaced from the third rail. The second modification shown in Figs. 8, 9, 12 and 13 operates in a similar manner except that, as referred to above, it is not required therein to change the angles of the planes 127 to decrease the weight of the moving car upon the rails 6. A further difference in this modification is that the supporting mechanism for the car is so constructed that the latter is permitted to swing baekwardly and forwardly, and from side to side in order to give all the sensations of aerial flight. The delusion is furthermore added to by the wavy character of the track 138, it being well known that aeroplanes in their passage through the air have a gently undulating movement. Again, modification when .it is'desired to drive the car in the opposite direction, it is only necessary to turn the same on the track 50 until the car points in the op osite direc in this 3 tion. The propeller motor, un er these cir cumstances, Wlll drive .the car in the new direction, and the electric motors situated upon the truck Wlll be operated 1n the opposite direction by means of a controller situated in the car of the usual type.

My invention is capable of many modifications and is applicable to many other piurposes without departing from the spirit thereof. Among other uses to which the invention could be put might be mentioned the fact that the lifting effort of aeroplanes could be scientifically determined in the entire absence of any danger tothe experimentor. shown in Figs. 8, 9, 12 and 13 could be made in miniature size so as to be used for a my.

I claim 1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a car, one or more aeroplanes attached thereto, a flexible connector between the front and rear ,ends of the aerolflurtherniorc, the modifications planes, and means for shifting said connector to change the angles of t he planes, including a rack. and pinion'ti. 2. In a device of the character described,

I the combination of a. car, one or more series In testimony that I claim the foregoing of each series of aeroplanes, and a common of aeroplanes attached thereto, a flexible I have hereunto set my hand. connector between thefront and rear ends 'PAUL PAGES.

means for shifting said connectors to Witne ses:

change the angles of the p1anes,'including A. NnWooMB,

a rack and pinion. M. MLERKLE. 

